Category: Disaster Relief
disaster relief efforts of MAM
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first day at Cyclone relief camp
Bengal Cylone Releif 2009 Preparations and the first day at the camp 30th May 2009 The day (26th May 2009) dawned as usual with rain bringing great relief for the people of Calcutta, who were roasted under the scorching heat for nearly a month. The people were set to their daily routine. Suddenly at about 10’0 clock, strong wind started blowing with a speed of about 120 Kmph. The sudden emergence of strong Cyclonic storm, brought the normal communing system and the public transport system to a grinding halt. Almost all the roads were blocked with uprooted trees. The cyclone…
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Amma inspires a devotee to reach out to the traumatised children of Gaza
Hearing about the terrible suffering of the children of Gaza, and a plea for cards to be sent to those children severely traumatised, a devotee from Canada felt deeply moved to write cards to them. But the practicalities proved to be challenging. What could be done by just one person? She realised that the message would need translating, she didn’t know any of their names, and what to say? What would be the best way to send a loving message limited to a card? It took some weeks of effort emailing to try and get translations but with no success.…
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Heart touching moments from the camp
2 Nov 2008, Bihar Our camp has been a pretty busy place in the past few days. Daily we have been distributing something or the other as some families start preparing to go back to their villages. The government has started sending people to estimate damage & loss suffered by individuals so those who are able to go back want to get back so that they can meet the officials and get what is due to them. A few days back the temperatures suddenly dropped so we distributed blankets to all the people. The children in the camp are as…
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They are still in waters
Chatapur, 1st November 2008 The footprints that man leaves in his wake. The work that man does. His creation, his world – I was thinking of these as I walked from our camp to the next district. We give it so much importance and it is our very existence – but in a moment nature can wipe it all away. Just a few footprints tell of our passing – but they too are washed away, inundated. The next district is about 15 kms away. I started out with a local person at about 7.30 in the morning. We waded through…
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The Children of God
Children are so spontaneous. The worries of the world don’t worry them. They do not care or do not know whether Obama or McCain is going to be the next president of the US. They do not know the LOC between Pakistan & India – but they know how to laugh. They know how to spontaneously smile when you smile or make faces at them. They know how to be happy in small things – a tree climbed, a chocolate relished, the company of friends, running freely, shouting at the top of their voices, ……. They are the children of…
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Buffalo Bill – The original was Indian!
In some ways Bihar reminded me of the Wild West! You do remember those stories don’t you – of cowboys and horses and gun fighters. One wild character was Buffalo Bill. But few know that the name was copied from India! Here Yama (Death) is shown as riding on a buffalo. He was the original Buffalo Bill – the wildest and most dangerous of them all. For the Buffalo Bill of the West might have missed a shot but Yama sure does not miss. But all the same he is a friend if you get to know him. The…
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Ultimate satisfaction
I have been having Amma’s darshan for about 15 years. Amma had come to our place when I was in the 6th standard. We were staying in Suratkal at that time. The program was in a beach side village near Mangalore. My exams were going on at that time but my father forcibly took me to meet Amma. We started from our house at 1 am and reached the program site at 3 am. I had exams the next day so we thought that going early would help us get darshan earlier. I met Amma during the morning program –…
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A feeling of fullness
26 Oct 2008, Sauapul, Bihar Everyday there a large number of patients waiting even before our doctors get to the hospital. So till the end of the day it is non-stop consultation and in the midst of all this we have emergency cases from time to time. Some we deal with, some we have to take in our ambulance to the government hospital, and sometimes a doctor has to go with the patient. “But when I am tired and feel down I just have to catch a sight of Amal, who is generally seen running around the place, to feel…
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Back in Bihar camp
26 Oct 2008, Saipaul, Bihar After a very eventful journey in which we saw half on India – a bridge was broken on the way, lines in Orissa were flooded, there was a huge agitation in Bihar and they were breaking windows and disrupting rail traffic I finally managed to reach Patna 26 hours after scheduled time. And then again the trains from there were cancelled, the buses were jam packed and there was no space at all. It was with great difficulty that I managed to reach our camp today morning. Shall send some report when I get more…